The Timelost
by Tim66
Summary: Lighthouse keeper Vince Hawkins wakes up in the incredible future of 2017. However, Sally Sparrow and LINDA are there to lend a hand.
1. Discovery

DISCLAIMER: The character of Vince Hawkins belongs to Terrence Dicks. The characters of Elton Pope and Ursula Blake belong to Russell T. Davies. The character of Sally Sparrow belongs to Steven Moffat. The character of Anne Travers belongs to Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story touches on events from the Lethbridge-Stewart novel, _Beast Of Fang Rock_ , which was written by Andy Frankham-Allen.

DEDICATION: This story is dedicated to Emily Carter, the greatest Doctor Who fan ever to walk the planet Earth. 

**BENEATH SOUTHAMPTON, PRESENT TIME...**

 _Shouldn't be far now,_ Elton Pope thought as he led the small group through the disused sewer tunnel. With him were the people that made up the current roster of LINDA (London Investigation 'N'Detective Agency).

The first LINDA, had been formed in early 2007. It had been a society composed of five people: Elton, Ursula Blake, Colin Skinner, Bridget Sinclair and Bliss. Although the group had originally created and dedicated to finding out about the mysterious traveller in time and space known as the Doctor, the members of the group soon bonded and LINDA became as much a social club as a Doctor-investigating club, much to the annoyance of their future "leader", the mysterious Victor Kennedy. Kennedy had been, in reality, an alien being called an Abzorbaloff.

With the help of the Doctor himself, the Abzorbaloff had been destroyed, however, all but Elton were absorbed by the creature and died with it. However, Ursula was later partially returned from the dead by the Doctor's sonic screwdriver in the form of a face embedded in a slab of concrete, which Elton now carried in his hands.

That incident had caused LINDA to be dissolved. However, recent mysterious events on Earth, allegedly involving the Doctor, had convinced Elton and Ursula to revive LINDA in 2015. Soon they had a few new members join them. Ross Greene, was a conspiracy nut who was convinced that the Government lied all the time to the people, Joseph Chandler, Joey to his friends, was a computer geek extraordinaire, and Sally Sparrow, a young women who had recently joined the group after the tragic death of her fiancé, Larry. Like Elton, Sally had her own experience with the Doctor, which involved some terrifying creatures called the Weeping Angels. This incident had occurred not long after Elton's own encounter with the Doctor, so they had much in common. This new LINDA investigated strange mysteries, such as this current one.

"We should be there soon," Joey said. It was because of him that LINDA was here to begin with. Not too long ago, Joey had hacked into a classified website which referred to a mysterious group called Torchwood. Apparently, this Torchwood had been formed to fight alien invaders (and had limited success, it seemed). The website referred to the branch of Torchwood that was based here, in these tunnels, under Southampton. This branch, called Torchwood Southampton, had all been wiped out in something called the "Scaroth Incident Of 1903". No further information could be turned up, so Elton decided that an on-site investigation was warranted.

"I hope so, it stinks down here," Ross said.

"Well, Ross, we are in the sewers, after all," Sally said.

"Yeah, but I still don't like it."

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be too far now," Elton said in a reassuring voice.

"Are you sure about this?" Ursula whispered.

Elton looked down at Ursula's face in the concrete slab, and replied. "No, not really. Perhaps this Torchwood can help, but I'm not sure." This was one of the reasons that Elton wanted to find this Torchwood base. From what Joey had been able to download from the classified site was that Torchwood apparently had access to alien technology. Technology that could, perhaps, restore Ursula to human form.

"This is not the first false lead you've followed, Elton," Ursula pointed out.

"I know, but I'll keep looking, Ursula. I promise you that."

"Hey, I found something!" Ross's voice called out. He'd gone slightly ahead of the group and was now standing by the wall on the left side of the sewer tunnel. "The colour of this section of the wall is slightly different. I think there's something here."

"Ross is right," Sally said after she'd examined the wall herself. "This could be what we're looking for."

"Only one way to find out," Elton said and began to push on the section of wall. The others helped and soon the section began to swing back. It's a hidden door. This must be it, Elton thought. Before long, the door had been opened and Elton led the group into the darkened room beyond. Switching on their flashlights, the group saw that they were now standing in what looked like central meeting area of some kind. All around them were old furniture (chairs, tables, desks, and even a couple of couches) and filing cabinets, all covered with dust.

 _We may be the first humans to visit this place in over a hundred years,_ Sally thought.

"What was this Torchwood anyway?" Ross asked. "Some kind of Government Black Ops thing?"

"No one really knows," Joey said. "Much of what is known of Torchwood comes from second hand accounts. Legend has it that Queen Victoria herself first set it up, back in 1879, or thereabouts."

"You're kidding."

"No, Ross, that's what the stories say," Joey said. He had scoured the Internet for mentions of Torchwood, but information was few and far between. "If their true or not, your guess is as good as mine."

"That's the Government for you," Ross said. "Always lying. Is this where our tax dollars go?"

"It's more than that, Ross," Joey began. "For example..."

"Guys, not now, please," Elton said, before Ross and Joey got into another debate. And when those two really got going, the debate could last for hours, possibly days. "We need to get the equipment set up and get some serious research done. Save the debate for later, okay?"

"Right you are, boss," Ross said and Joey grunted in agreement.

The group quickly got busy, breakout their batter powered lanterns and setting up their laptop computers. Sally pulled out a digital camera and began taking pictures of the room around them. It was then that she spotted a door nearby and headed towards it.

"Right, I think that's everything," Ross said. "We're ready, Elton."

"Good, now I want us to go over everything here," Elton said. "Catalogue it all. Who knows what we might find."

"Guys, in here!" Sally's voice called out from the door that she had gone through, seconds before. In no time, the rest of the group had joined her. Sally was standing in front of what appeared to be a series of drawers that one might find in a mortuary. Of the drawers, only one of them had a label on it which read:

V. HAWKINS  
FANG ROCK LIGHTHOUSE  
AUGUST 26th, 1902

"What does that mean?" Joey asked.

"I don't know, but the same Fang Rock sounds familiar, but I can't place it right now," Ross said.

"What should we do, Elton?" Sally asked.

"Let's open it up and see what's in there," Elton replied.

"You sure about that, boss?" Joey asked. "What if it's dangerous."

"It's highly unlikely that anything is going to be dangerous after one hundred and fifteen years," Elton said. "Come on, everyone, give me a hand." The group grabbed the drawer and, after a few moments of grunting and pulling, were able to open it. As they did so, some vapour, that was ice cold, flowed out of the drawer and into the room, temporarily chilling it.

"What the hell was that?" Sally asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I don't know, but look at this," Elton said and shined his flashlight into the drawer. Lying on the slab was a young man, who looked to be in his early twenties, and was dressed like someone from 1902 would be dressed. Prominent was the heavy white sweater and wooly black hat the young man had on. "V. Hawkins I presume," Elton said.

"This chap has been here since 1902?" Ross asked.

"So it seems," Sally said. _He's kind of cute, reminds me a bit of Larry..._ Sally squelched the thought, before the emotions associated with could overwhelm her.

"Who is he? Why is he here?" Ross wondered.

"There are some filing cabinets in the other room. Perhaps we'll find our answers there," Joey suggested.

"I agree. They must have some documents about who this chap is and how he ended up here." Elton said. The group turned and headed back into the main room.

It was Sally that found what they were looking for. "Come have a look at this," she said, holding up a file that she had extracted from one of the filing cabinets. She put the file down on one of the tables and opened it. The group read the report contained within:


	2. The Report

_NAME OF SUBJECT: Vincent Hawkins  
DATE OF BIRTH: October 28th, 1877  
PLACE OF BIRTH: Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom  
KNOWN RELATIVES: William and Elizabeth Hawkins (parents), Arthur Hawkins (brother), Sarah Hawkins (sister)._

 _SUMMARY: Subject was recovered at Fang Rock lighthouse on August 26th, 1902, following a suspected alien incursion at that location. On that date, locals reported seeing a fireball in the sky and , then, hearing what sounded like an explosion, coming from the direction of the lighthouse.  
Investigators from this facility (Torchwood Southampton) were thus dispatched to that location to investigate, before the official authorities became involved. Upon arrival, the investigators discovered six fatalities. They were as follows:_

 _Benjamin Travers, head lighthouse keeper.  
Reuben Whormby, assistant lighthouse keeper.  
Lord Henry Palmerdale, financier.  
Colonel James Skinsale, MP for Thurley  
Adelaide Lesage, Lord Palmerdale's secretary.  
William Harker, a sailor who had worked on Lord Palmerdale's yacht._

 _It was first assumed that keeper-in-training, Vincent Hawkins, who had been found in the lamp room, was also dead. However, an examination of him by the team physician proved that he was, in fact, alive, but in a coma._

 _The lamp room itself had a gaping hole in the wall, made by an unknown force. The wreckage of Lord Palmerdale's yatch was discovered in the sea nearby. It was deemed likely that both these incidents were connected to the fatalities, but that was only conjecture at that point in the investigation._

 _Needing more time to determine what happened, the team returned to the Southampton facility, bringing Vincent Hawkins with them. With medicines at their disposal, they revived Hawkins and interrogated him as to what had happened at Fang Rock. Hawkins stated that the events had started when a strange fireball had fallen into the sea, and then Benjamin Travers had been mysteriously killed soon after._

 _Hawkins then mentioned that a stranger, calling himself the Doctor (see separate file) and a woman, calling herself Leela, who had arrived on the island by unknown means. This Doctor seemed to know what was happening and hinted that some unknown creature was in the process of attacking the lighthouse._

 _Upon hearing about the Doctor, the team realized that, most likely, an alien incursion had taken place at Fang Rock. They also realized that they could not risk releasing Hawkins, on the risk that he would tell others about what he had seen at Fang Rock._

 _Since it was most likely that Hawkins would be presumed dead along with the others at Fang Rock, the team decided to place him in suspended animation, pending further assessment of the situation._


	3. When The Sleeper Wakes

"The Doctor? The Doctor both Elton and I encountered?" Sally asked. "Could he have been mixed up in all this somehow."

"So it would seem. This does sound like a situation that the Doctor would be involved in," Elton said.

"No doubt this branch of Torchwood was wiped out before they could 'further assess the situation', as this report mentions," Joey said.

"Yes, and they had ways of putting people in suspended animation. Must be that alien technology they allegedly got a hold of." Sally said.

"But that means..." Joey began.

"Hawkins is still alive," Elton replied.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Vince Hawkins felt like he'd awakened from a very long nap as he slowly sat up in the drawer. _What the hell happened to me?_ Vince thought to himself. He remembered being in the lamp room, when Reuben had come in, with this ghastly smile. Vince remembered feeling alarmed, and tried to back away, but Reuben had been too fast for him. Reuben had grabbed him and then the next thing Vince remembered was being in a dark room, with a bunch of strange people asking him questions. These people had seemed excited when Vince had brought up the Doctor, for some reason. Before Vince could ask why, he had felt a pain on his left arm, as one of the people had jabbed a huge needle into it. A sudden wave of coldness had then flowed through his body, and Vince remembered nothing more after that, until now, that is. Suddenly, Vince heard voices coming from the next room and decided to investigate. Very slowly, he extracted himself from the drawer, his legs at first feeling rubbery for some reason. _What did those people do to me?_ he thought as he slowly managed to balance himself out. He made his way over to the door and peeked into the next room and saw a group of people, three men and one woman, talking among themselves. _This is a different lot than those other people here who kept asking me all those questions,_ Vince thought. Vince then realized that he had no idea exactly where 'here' was or why he had been brought here to begin with. Deciding that now was the time for answers, Vince headed into the room to confront the group of strangers.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

It was Elton that first heard the footsteps coming from the next room and he turned to see Vince Hawkins approaching the group. "Uh, hello Vincent," Elton said slowly.

"I prefer Vince," Vince replied.

"Well, Vince it is then," Elton said. "My name is Elton Pope." He introduced the rest of the group, except Ursula, whom he felt Vince was not ready to meet yet.

"Could one of you tell me just what is going on here?" Vince asked. "And... What kind of clothes are you lot wearing. I've never seen clothes like that before."

"No, I don't suppose you have," Sally replied. "Much has changed since..." she broke off as she saw Elton gesturing her to be quiet, but it was too late.

"Much has changed since what?" Vince asked. "What do you mean?"

"Vince..." Elton began."

"Look I don't know what you, or that other lot I saw when I first woke up here, want," Vince said with irritation. "Just tell me how to get out of here. I need to get back to the lighthouse."

"The Fang Rock lighthouse?" Ross asked.

"Yes, the Fang Rock lighthouse," the even more growing irritated Vince replied. "Something really odd is going on back there, and that's where I should be."

It was at that point that Joey whipped out his digital camera and snapped a picture of Vince.

Elton, who had been too late to stop Joey, sighed to himself. _Well, the cat is of out of the bag now._

"What was that thing?" Vince asked, his irritation now giving way to fear.

"It's my camera," Ross replied.

"That can't be a camera, it's too small," Vince said. He then noticed that the other members of the group were carrying strange devices that he couldn't even begin to identify. Some of them appeared to be emitting glows of some kind. Vince's eye then fell on the concrete slab that Elton was carrying. A slab that appeared to have a human face on it. "What is that!?"

"I'm Ursula. Nice to meet you, Mr. Hawkins," Ursula said.

"It... It...talked!"

"It's a long story," Ursula said.

Vince didn't know how to reply to that.

"Okay, Vince, here's the story," Elton said. "Me and my group are called LINDA. That stands for London Investigation 'N'Detective Agency. And we have no connection to the people that brought you here in 1902. We're not even sure what happened to them."

"What did you mean when you said that they brought me here in 1902. You sounded like you were referring to it in the past tense," Vince pointed out.

"Because it was in the past," Elton said. "You've heard of hibernation, haven't you."

"Yes, some animals hibernate in the winter. What does that have to do with me?"

"Because the people who brought you here had a way of putting people into hibernation, Vince," Sally said. "And the did that to you. They put you in hibernation, and that is where you stayed, until now, that is."

Vince really didn't want to ask the next question, but there was really no way to avoid it. "How long?"

"Vince..." Elton started.

"How long!?" Vince asked again, his voice slightly raised.

"It's now the year 2017, Vince," Elton replied. "You've been asleep for the past one hundred and fifteen years."

Vince opened his mouth to reply, then he closed it when he couldn't find the words. After a few moments, he croaked. "I believe you." Then, to his irritation, the room began to spin and everything went black.

"He's passed out," Sally said. "Poor fellow."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Ursula said. "Everything he saw here must have been a huge shock to him, especially me. It's now all just caught up to him. I don't think he passed out as much as his brain just shut down at the information overload.

"Come on, help me get him on that couch," Elton said. Together, he, Ross, and Joey managed to get the unconscious Vince onto one of the couches that was against the far wall of the room.

"Well, now what?" Joey asked.

"Right now we need to explore the rest of this place," Elton said. "Joey, can you stay here and watch Vince, while we do that?"

"Sure, no problem," Joey replied.

"Let's go then," Elton said as he led the rest of the group deeper into the facility.


	4. Stranger In A Strange Land

For the second time in minutes, Vince regained consciousness and cautiously opened one eye. He saw that the strange group of people had disappeared, save the one called Joey. Joey was sitting down in a chair, holding one of those strange glowing devices in his hands. He seemed to be tapping the device with his fingers, for reasons Vince had no clue about. Vince's mind went back to being told that he'd been asleep for more than a hundred years, and quickly rejected it. _It's rubbish, has to be. No one can sleep that long,_ Vince thought. _I have to get out of here, and find my way back home. Then perhaps things will make sense again._ Very slowly, Vince got up from the couch and made his way towards Joey. As soon as he got close, Vince tapped Joey on the shoulder, and, when Joey turned around, Vince slugged him in the jaw. Joey fell to the floor, unconscious. With a grunt of satisfaction, Vince then spotted what appeared to be an exit and headed towards it.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

After about twenty minutes of exploration, Elton and the rest of the group returned to the main room, to see Joey getting to his feet and rubbing his jaw. "What happened, Joey?" Elton asked. He looked over at the couch and saw that Vince was gone. "Where's Vince?"

"He caught me by surprise and slugged me," Joey replied. "He's probably trying to find his way back to the surface, if he hasn't done so already."

"We better find him, fast," Sally said. "The poor fellow has no idea what he's in for."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

After making his way through a seemingly endless dark tunnel, Vince finally emerged into the daylight and found a world he could barely comprehend. All the people he saw were wearing strange clothes. Automobiles, the likes of which Vince had never seen before, zipped past him on the street. Hearing a noise overhead, Vince looked up to see what appeared to be a huge mechanical bird flying far overhead. He was so focused on that object, that he didn't see the two young children until they had bumped into him. Vince looked down as the two children mumbled apologies and went on their way. The two children were tapping the same kind of devices that the LINDA people had, and they were not the only ones. Everywhere Vince looked, people were tapping and even talking into those devices. _What kind of insane world have I found myself in!?_ Vince thought to himself. Without realizing it, Vince began to run. And when he realized that he was running, he knew exactly where he wanted to go.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The van that the LINDA group used was called the Mystery Machine, named after the van in the Scooby Doo cartoons. It was here that, after failing to find Vince, the group gathered to plan their next move. "Where could he have gotten to?" Joey asked.

"I don't know, but we better find him before he gets himself injured, or worse." Ross said.

"I agree," Elton said. "In a way, we're responsible for all this. We were the ones that woke him up, after all."

"Well, what else could we have done?" Ursula said. "We couldn't just leave him in there, like that Torchwood lot did."

"That's the Government for you," Ross said, rolling his eyes.

"Ross, not now, please," Sally said. She was consulting her laptop.

"Have you found something, Sally?" Elton asked.

"Yes, I have," Sally replied. "Now, if you found yourself in a strange place, where would you instinctively want to go?"

"Home?" Ursula suggested.

"Yes, home," Sally said. "Come on, everyone, we're heading to Portsmouth."


	5. Conversation In A Cemetery

It had taken Vince almost to sundown to reach Portsmouth. Upon arrival, he'd headed to the street where his house had been. However, Vince saw that his house, and all the others on the street, were gone, replaced by newer houses. Confused, Vince had asked around and had been told that his old house, and all the others around it, had been leveled during the Battle Of Britain. Vince had not pressed for details, but thanked the people that had supplied the information and went on his way. Now he sat in the cemetery, at the Hawkins family plot, staring at the graves of his parents. According to the tombstone, his father, William, had died in 1928, and his mother, Elizabeth, had died in 1933. Below their names was the inscription: OUR SON, VINCENT: 1877-1902. _They put my name on the tombstone, even though I wasn't buried there,_ Vince thought. _Someone told them that I had died at Fang Rock._ Vince had looked around for the graves of his brother, Arthur, and his sister, Sarah, but couldn't find them. So he just sadly stared at his parents grave and tears formed in his eyes. Vince now felt more alone than he ever had before. Not only was his family gone, but everyone he'd ever known as well. Slowly, Vince reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket knife. It's not that big, but it will do the job, Vince thought as he opened the knife and placed the blade on his left wrist. _I don't belong in this world. It's better this way. I just hope this won't hurt too much._ He braced himself and prepared to start cutting his wrist.

"Vince, wait, don't do it!" a voice said suddenly.

Vince looked up and saw one of that LINDA lot, the woman called Sally Sparrow, approaching. "Go away, Sally, and leave me alone," Vince said.

"No, I won't," Sally replied as she saw down beside Vince. Slowly, she reached over and took the knife from him. "I don't think you really want to do this either."

"How do you know that?"

"The fact that I was able to take the knife from you just now," Sally said. "I know you must be feeling lost and confused right now, but killing yourself is not the answer. Let me help."

"How can you help me?"

"I have my ways."

Vince didn't reply for a moment, and then asked. "How did you even know where I was?"

"I looked up where your family plot is. It's easy to do that now," Sally replied. "I figured you'd come here."

"Well, my parents are here," Vince said. "Don't know where my brother and sister are though."

"Your brother is buried in a military cemetery in France," Sally said. "He was killed in the Battle Of The Somme in 1916."

"The battle of what?"

"There was a war with Germany, Vince. It lasted from 1914 to 1918. Countless were killed on both sides. Your brother was one of them." Sally went on to describe the history of the First World War.

"Oh my God," Vince said, once Sally had finished. It was a war the likes in which Vince had never heard of before. _I might have ended up fighting in that war myself,_ he thought. "Someone told be about something called the Battle Of Britain. My house was bombed during that battle. Did that happen during this war?"

"No, that happened in the Second World War, Vince," Sally replied. "This war was also with Germany, and Japan. It lasted from 1939 to 1945."

"There was another one!?"

"I'm afraid so, Vince."

"Seems like I missed a lot," Vince said, shaking his head. "What about Sarah? My sister. Do you know what happened to her?"

"Yes, I managed to turn up some information on Sarah. She got married and emigrated to Canada in 1906," Sally said. "She had children, who in turn had children. Your sister's descendants are still living in Canada today."

"At least something turned out nice for one of the Hawkins siblings," Vince said slowly.

"As I said, Vince, I know how you much be feeling right now," Sally said. "Lost in a strange time."

"You sound like you've had personal experience."

"No, not me personally," Sally said. "Ten years ago, my friend, Kathy Nightingale, through circumstances too complicated to explain right now, ended up stuck in 1920, with no way back to the present."

"I can sympathize," Vince said. "Although I went in the other direction."

"Yes, but Kathy managed to make life for herself in the past. It wasn't easy, but she did it. She married and had a family. Kathy died in 1987, but I've met her descendants," Sally said. "My point is that if someone from the present can cope in the past, surely, Vince, someone from the past can cope in the present."

"Yes, but..." Vince broke off and gestured to the graves of his parents.

"I know how that feels too, Vince," Sally said. "Kathy had a brother, Larry. He and I eventually became engaged, but..."

"What happened?" Vince asked.

"He was killed by a drunk driver while making an evening run to the shop, last year," Sally said. "It was so stupid and pointless."

"I'm sorry."

"After Larry died, I felt so lost and alone," Sally went on. "I didn't know what to do. I spent hours on the Internet, I'll explain what that is later, just surfing, trying to lose myself. That's how I found out about Elton and LINDA. Something seemed to call to me, and I ended up joining them."

"What is the deal with you LINDA lot anyway?" Vince asked.

"We're a club of amateur investigators. We like to go around the country, investigating strange and mysterious events. A lot of those events involve someone called the Doctor."

"The Doctor!?" Vince said, his eyes going wide. "There was a bloke who turned up at Fang Rock, just as the trouble started. He called himself the Doctor. He had this strange woman, called Leela, with him. I know it can't possibly be the same man, but..."

"Actually, it's very likely that the man you saw was the same man I knew," Sally said. "You see, the Doctor can time travel."

"What!?"

"Yes, he can. I've seen it myself. He travels around in a blue box called a TARDIS," Sally said. "It was during my adventure with him in 2007, that saw my friend, Kathy, sent back to 1920."

"If the Doctor can time travel, as you say he can, then why didn't you ask him to go to 1920, collect your friend, and bring her back to the present?" Vince asked.

"That's complicated, Vince," Sally replied. "Let's just say that what happened to Kathy is part of history, and you can't change that. At least not without severe consequences."

"So, even if we could track the Doctor down now, I guess that having him return me to 1902 would be out of the question."

"That's right, Vince. Despite what actually happened to you, history records that you died at Fang Rock in 1902. And that's how things have to stay."

"Because no one can change history, not even the Doctor," Vince said, nodding his head.

"Not even the Doctor," Sally replied. "Believe me, there are times I wish that I could summon him, so he could take me back, so I could save Larry. However, I know that, even if I could contact the Doctor, he wouldn't permit me to save Larry. Like Kathy being sent into the past, what happened to Larry is part of history, and I have to accept that."

"Just as I have to accept that this is my time now," Vince said slowly.

"Yes, this is your time now, Vince. However, as I said, let me help you," Sally said.

Vince looked into Sally's face and knew that she meant what she said. She wanted to help him cope with this strange new world he now found himself in. Like him, Sally had faced personal tragedies, yet that hadn't made her give up on life. If she could cope, then perhaps he could as well. "Okay, Sally, I accept your kind offer of help," Vince said.

"Thank you, Vince," Sally replied. She held out a hand and Vince took it. "Are you hungry?" she then asked.

"Come to think of it, I am," Vince replied. "I haven't eaten since... Well, I guess I should say in over a century."

"Well, then, let me show you a bit of how we eat in the 21st Century," Sally said. Slowly, the two of them got to their feet and left the cemetery.


	6. A Visit To Burger King

"So, what's this place called again?" Vince asked.

"Burger King," Sally replied. The two of them stood in line, waiting to get up to the counter to order their meals. "I guess they didn't have this back in 1902."

"No, they sure didn't," Vince said as he looked around. His eyes fell on the menus, displayed over the counter and he read the food selection. While he did recognize some of the foods on the menu, such as hamburgers and french fries, others he couldn't even begin to guess as to what they were. _What the hell is a Whopper?_ Vince thought to himself. While he waited, Vince also noticed that people in the line with them were tapping and talking into the same devices he had noticed before. _What is it with these things they keep tapping and talking into. It's like they'd all die without them._

"Hello, can I take your orders," the cashier asked, once Vince and Sally had gotten up to the counter.

"Yes, I would like a Whopper, a large fries, and a Diet Coke please," Sally said.

"And you, sir?" the cashier asked Vince.

"Uh, I'll have the same," Vince replied. He had decided to just follow Sally's lead and hope for the best.

"Right you are," the cashier said and placed the orders.

When their food was ready for them, Vince reached into his pocket to pay for it, but then realized that it was very unlikely that a restaurant in 2017 would accept money from 1902.

"It's okay, Vince, I got this," Sally said. She reached into her purse and pulled out, what appeared to Vince, to be a piece of plastic, which she then tapped into a device on the counter. The device gave off a beep. "There we go."

"What was that?" Vince asked.

"I just paid for our meal. Come on, let's sit down, I'll explain it then."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Vince and Sally soon found a table and began to eat. Sally explained about how she had paid for their meal. "So it's all done electronically?" Vince asked, once Sally had finished.

"Yes, it is," Sally replied. "Of course, people still do use paper money, but more and more people prefer to pay via Interact and such."

"So it's like those things I've seen people tapping and talking into?"

"Yes, kind of like that," Sally said. "Technology has come a long way since 1902. We've even sent people into space."

"What?" Vince asked, astonished.

"Yes, people have been going into space for decades now," Sally said. "The biggest thing was when humans first landed on the Moon, back in 1969. Of course, that was before I was born, but my parents remember it."

Once again Vince didn't know what to say. In 1902, going into space belonged to the imaginations of such men as H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. Now it was not only a fact of science, but of history as well. "I feel like that chap in that story, the one that slept for twenty years."

"Rip Van Winkle," Sally said as she took a bite of her Whopper.

"Yes, him," Vince said. "And, when he woke up, how amazed he was at how things had changed. The American Revolution, for example, which had taken place while he was asleep. Still, the world was still much the same as he had left it. This..." Vince gestured around him. "This is so far from 1902 that I don't know how I'll ever comprehend it all."

"That's what I'm here for, Vince."

"And I much appreciate it, Sally," Vince said and took a bite of his own Whopper. Not bad, he thought. "I'd like to know about a few more things. The British Empire, for example...," he began.

"Is now the Commonwealth Of Nations," Sally replied.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The Commonwealth evolved out of the Empire after World War II," Sally explained. "Basically, we're all equal partners now. Britain, Canada, Australia, India, and many other former British colonial possessions."

"And the Royal Family, are they still around?" Vince asked.

"They are," Sally said. "In fact, our current Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, broke Queen Victoria's record and became our longest reigning Monarch, a couple of years back."

"You don't say," Vince said. From his perspective, Queen Victoria had died just the previous year, and she had been touted as Britain's longest reigning Monarch. Now that was no longer true.

"I guess you have a million more questions, Vince."

"That's an understatement."

"Well, lets finish our meal here," Sally said. "When we meet back up with Elton and the others, we can help you more then."

"Thanks, Sally," Vince said and took another bite of his Whopper.


	7. Doctor Discussions

"Where have you been?" Elton asked, once Sally had brought Vince to the Mystery Machine.

"Vince and I had lunch together," Sally replied as the two of them got in the van.

"She took me to a place called Burger King," Vince added. "It was an interesting meal."

"Yeah, I guess it would be for you," Elton said.

"Anyway, Sally convinced me that I should stay with you lot, at least until I find my way around again," Vince said. He looked at Sally, who smiled back at him. "And I think I'll take her up on that offer."  
 _  
Is it my imagination, or is something developing between the two of them,_ Elton thought. _If so, I'm glad. Sally hasn't smiled this much since she first joined us. Looks like she may be finally healing from Larry's death at last._

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The current headquarters of LINDA was Elton Pope's house, located on the outskirts of London. It was here, the next morning, that Elton, Vince, Sally, and Ursula met (Joey and Ross were out on a food and beer run). The four of them were in living room, where Elton had laid out some pictures for Vince to look at. The pictures were of several men, of varying ages. One of the pictures caught Vince's eyes, a picture of a man with brown curly hair, who was wearing a long scarf and floppy hat. "That's him!" Vince said as he tapped his finger on the picture. "That's the Doctor that turned up on Fang Rock in 1902." He looked at the other pictures. "Who are all these other men?"

"That's the Doctor too," Sally replied. She pointed to another picture, one of a young man with short brown hair. "This is the Doctor that Elton and I met."

"But... But they're not the same man," Vince said.

"Actually, they are," Elton said, and indicated the men in the other pictures. "You already know that the Doctor can time travel in a blue box, Vince. Does it surprise you that he can apparently change his appearance as well."

"But that would mean that the Doctor is..."

"An alien," Sally said. "However, he's one of the good guys. He helped both Elton and me out, when we needed him. And he probably sorted out whatever was going on at Fang Rock in 1902."

"We think that another alien was involved in that incident," Elton said. "And that the Doctor managed to defeat it. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so before everyone else present at the lighthouse was killed.

"Except me, of course," Vince said.

"Yes, but no one else knew that at the time," Sally said. "Thanks to that Torchwood lot."

"What was that all about anyway?" Vince asked.

"No one really knows," Sally replied. "Torchwood managed to cover their tracks pretty well. It was sheer luck that we stumbled unto that website that led us to find you."

"And it was your encounter with the Doctor, Elton, that led to..." Vince paused and pointed at Ursula.

"Yes, it was that incident that caused me to become as you see me now," Ursula said from her slab of concrete. "It was the best that the Doctor could do to save me."

"It was better than losing her entirely," Elton said. "Still, that is another reason why I decided to revive LINDA. We know that there is other alien technology out there, because of the incidents involving the Doctor. It's my hope that, one day, I'll get a hold of some alien tech that will restore Ursula to human form. I haven't managed to do so yet, but I'll keep trying."

"And that's how we found you, Vince," Sally said. "We went to that hidden Torchwood base in search of alien technology."

"And you found me instead," Vince replied. "And I'm grateful for that. Who knows how long I would have been down there, forgotten, if you hadn't."

"I'm grateful we found you as well," Sally said, smiling.

"That makes two of us," Vince replied, smiling back.

"Oh, get a room," Elton said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry, what?" Vince asked.

"I'll explain later," Sally said.

"Elton, is there room in your group for one more?" Vince asked. "Because I want to join LINDA. You lot were there when I needed help, and now I want to return the favour. You want to find technology to restore Ursula, well, let me help you do that."

"Sure, Vince, welcome to the team," Elton said and the two men shook hands.

 _Plus it will allow Sally and I to spend more time together,_ Vince thought.

It was at the point that Ross and Joey returned, laden with beer and chips. In his hands, Joey also held a book that he handed to Vince. "You might find this interesting." Joey said.

Vince looked down at the book, which was titled _Horrors Of Fang Rock_. "What's this?"

"A book about all the strange events that happened at Fang Rock over the years," Joey said. "It was published more than fifty years ago, but, it's still a good read. It describes how Fang Rock was apparently haunted by the ghosts of those that died there in 1902, yours included, Vince."

"Yes, but I never died there. How could my ghost be there?" Vince asked.

"I have no idea," Joey said. "Apparently there was some kind of investigation into the matter in 1969, after which the hauntings of the lighthouse apparently ceased. As to what that investigation was, or what they did, I have no idea. It's all very hush-hush."

"There are reports of hauntings all over Britain," Vince said. "At least there were in my time. Why would this one be 'hush-hush', as you put it?"

"Trust the Government to try and cover something up. It only makes people more curious." Ross said.

"No one knows, Vince," Joey said. "At least no one is talking. Believe me, I've tried to enquire about this and have always been quietly rebuffed. I'll keep at it though."

"Good. I really want to know about this," Vince said and looked down at _Horrors Of Fang Rock_. "Meanwhile, I have a book to read."


	8. Return To Fang Rock

**THREE MONTHS LATER...**

Vince smiled as he held Sally's hand as the boat moved through the water. "We should be there soon," he said.

"How do you feel about going back?" Sally asked.

"I feel confident, since you're here with me, Sally."

"Thank you, Vince," Sally said. "Looks like we're here."

Vince turned and saw the lighthouse as the boat slowly approached the island. _The Fang Rock lighthouse. Hello old friend,_ he thought. The lighthouse looked different now, due to a fire that had gutted it in the 1950's. While no one had been killed, the lighthouse had been severely damaged and had to be more or less rebuilt from the ground up. According to Sally, the lighthouse had continued to function until 2009, when the advent of G.P.S. (Vince still found it hard to believe that countless artificial satellites were now circling the Earth) caused the lighthouse to be decommissioned, after more than two centuries of service.

After that, a group calling itself Haunted Tours Of Britain had purchased the lighthouse and had turned it into a tourist attraction for people interested in ghosts and hauntings. Given the sinister reputation of the lighthouse, the tours did brisk business every year. Vince and Sally were now on one of these tours.

"Right, here we are," the tour guide said as the boat pulled up to a dock, located not far from the lighthouse.

"Shall we?" Sally asked.

"Let's," Vince replied as the two of them debarked the boat with the rest of the tourists and headed for the lighthouse.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The tour was brief, but interesting. The people that ran it had done their homework as they recounted the strange history of the Fang Rock lighthouse and the mysterious deaths surrounding it. "Legend has it that the ghosts of the people, that died here in 1902, still haunt this lighthouse," the tour guide said.

"Really," Vince said. "Is young Vince Hawkins among them?"

"That he is, sir," the tour guide replied. "Many claimed to have heard his voice, up in the lamp room."

"Tragic that he died so young," Vince said as he exchanged smiles with Sally.

"Yes, very tragic, sir. Very tragic indeed."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

A little while later, Vince and Sally stood alone in the lamp room (the rest of the tour group was scattered about the lighthouse), looking out at the sea. "To me it's only been a few months since I was here in the lamp room," Vince said. "Yet it's been more than a century."

"How do you feel?" Sally asked.

"I feel fine, Sally, thanks to you," Vince replied and the two of them kissed tenderly. In the three months since they had first met, Vince and Sally's relationship had slowly progressed from friendship to romance. Coming together had helped the two of them heal from their personal tragedies. The pain would always be there, of course, but it wasn't as sharp anymore for either of them. "How do you feel, Sally?" Vince asked, after the kiss had ended.

"I feel great," Sally said as she snuggled against him.

It was a few moments before Vince and Sally realized that they were no longer alone. An elderly woman, who had been in the tour group, had joined them in the lamp room. "Can we help you, ma'am?" Vince asked.

"Actually, I was thinking I could help you, Mr. Hawkins and Ms, Sparrow, My name is Anne Travers. I'm a scientist. When I heard that you two had booked this tour, I booked myself as well, so I could meet you."

"How do you know our names?" Sally asked.

"I have my sources," Anne replied. She looked at Vince. "I also know who you are, Mr. Hawkins, and where, or should I say, when, you came from."

"How?" Vince asked.

"Let's just say we have a mutual friend."

"The Doctor?" Sally asked.

"The Doctor," Anne replied. "I met him nearly fifty years ago, during what came to be called the London Event. Much of that event is still classified, of course. However, I can say that the Doctor helped save Earth from a malevolent being called the Great Intelligence. That incident made me become involved with events that most people today don't even know occurred. I couldn't begin to tell you both of the things I've seen over the years."

 _I can well imagine that,_ Sally thought. Clearly LINDA had only begun to scrape the surface of all the strange events that had taken place in Britain, and the rest of the world, due to the involvement of the Doctor.

"Anyway, Mr. Hawkins, I couldn't help but notice that you have the same name, as well as bare a striking resemblance, to the Vince Hawkins that once worked here at Fang Rock. It didn't take me long to put two and two together," Anne said. "You are the same Vince Hawkins, aren't you."

"I am," Vince replied and then asked. "You said that your last name is Travers. Any relation to my former colleague, Ben Travers?"

"Yes, he was my great-uncle," Anne said.

"He was? What a coincidence," Vince said and exchange glances with Sally.

"I don't think it is a coincidence, Vince," Sally said.

"You're quite right, Ms, Sparrow, it's more than that, " Anne said. "I'm aware that you've been trying to find out about the investigation that took place here in 1969. I was part of that investigation. In fact I'm one of the last surviving members of that investigation team. I figured that it was time that someone knew what had happened here, back in 1969. It's only fitting that it should be you two, and the rest of your group."

"You know about LINDA?" Sally asked.

"Yes, I've kept track of you lot," Anne said. "And I want you to keep doing what you're doing. The world deserves to know the truth about the Doctor and how much he's helped the human race over the years, or perhaps I should say centuries."

"We'll do just that, Ms. Travers," Sally promised.

"Anyway, what happened here at Fang Rock in 1969?" Vince asked.

"Well, Mr. Hawkins and Ms. Sparrow..."

"Please, call me Vince," Vince said.

"And I'm Sally," Sally added.

"Well, then you two can call me Anne," Anne said. "Anyway, I think both of you should be prepared for a surprise at what I'm about to tell you..." 

**THE END?**


End file.
